Launching the DTI Badge of Accreditation
What do a dolphin, a frog, a lion, and a bunny have in common?
As well as being mammals with a decent leap, they are all recognised logos – or trust marks – for successful certification schemes. Today DTI has launched a trust mark of our own.
Each of these schemes solves an informational asymmetry problem between buyers and sellers. Where consumers see these logos on products, they gain confidence that they meet certain standards with respect to animal welfare, environmental protection, or safety. They enable producers to differentiate themselves on grounds of quality that are otherwise difficult for consumers to observe at the point of purchase.
There are many other accreditation and certification schemes covering a wide range of sectors, from farming, to jewelry, to forestry, to electronics. Although these schemes all solve important market failures, most are not the result of government intervention. In fact, the most successful schemes are typically run by the industry themselves, through a trade association or dedicated independent body.
Participation by market participants is also rarely mandated by government or regulation of any form. Whether it is a supplier of tuna, coffee, or toys, suppliers sign up to these schemes and display the badges voluntarily, because they want to send a positive signal to their customer base.
Businesses operating in the data transfer community have a similar informational problem. They need to be able to signal to their users, their clients, and the businesses at the other end of the transfer pipeline that they are a legitimate service that takes their data protection responsibilities seriously. In other words, that you can trust them to take care of your personal data. Just like a supermarket shopper can’t tell if dolphins were harmed in the making of a can of tuna, a user online can’t tell whether an app developer will protect their data from malicious actors, or in fact if they are one themselves.
We have gone part way to addressing this informational challenge through our Data Trust Registry, by verifying services against our transparent requirements, and then listing them publicly on the Registry.
But that only spreads the word when someone looks at our website. Service providers have told us they want a louder signal. They want a trust mark to demonstrate their credibility. And they want it from an independent and respected body.
In response to this feedback, we are today launching the DTI Badge of Accreditation, which we will issue to all services listed on the Data Trust Registry. Where approved services display it is up to them, so long as it links back to their individual listing on the Registry.
Get in touch if you would like to know more.
